And did anyone else see the irony near the end when Lucas said that by becoming the head of a corporation he had become the very thing that he was against when he was younger and making independent films???
Watching the whole thing was a little bitter-sweet for me. Having seen the movie originally in '77, this documentary helped refresh my memory in terms of putting everything in perspective when it premiered. I think most people seeing it for the first time today are unable to truly appreciate how this isn't just the latest sci-fi blockbuster that breaks opening records at the box office, then everyone forgets about it for the next summer hit opening the following weekend.
This movie was the first, and - for better or worse - completely changed Hollywood. I was fascinated when they talked about how no one knew how to edit the scene with the Falcon battling the tie fighters. Lucas had to show them aerial dogfight footage so they could understand what he wanted. Just think about that for a second! No one knew how to edit this because no one had ever seen anything like this before. And now this kind of stuff is common place in a dozen different movies that could be playing in your local theater!
So it pains me that a movie which literally divides the Hollywood timeline into pre-1977 and post-1977 now has to have CGI added to look "more modern." As the show touched on last night, this movie had the foresight to use an orchestra score instead of disco music. It's editing at the time was revolutionary and is now commonplace in movies today. It broke rules by showing the credits at the end of the picture. So bottom line - this movie is timeless. It would be very difficult to date it, unless you considered certain hair styles.
It is the most influential film of my lifetime and needs to be preserved.